With the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea awaiting consideration by the full Senate, speakers address the issues surrounding the treaty and examine the coalitions that have moved it forward after more than 25 years.

Seaborne commerce remains the linchpin of the global economy. And beyond trade, a host of other issues, ranging from climate change and energy to defense and piracy, ensure that the oceans will hold considerable strategic interest well into the future. In this report, Scott G. Borgerson explores an important element of the maritime policy regime: the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. He examines the international negotiations that led to the convention, the history of debates in the United States over whether to join it, and the strategic importance of the oceans for U.S. foreign policy today.

In this globalized world, countries will need to cooperate on policies that extend across borders to address issues that affect them all, including conflict prevention and peacemaking. The authors of this report assess the strengths and weaknesses of international institutions and provide a set of practical recommendations for how the United States can strengthen the global architecture for preventive action by partnering with those organizations.

This Independent Task Force finds that Brazil is a significant international actor whose influence on global issues is likely to increase and recommends that U.S. policymakers and others recognize its global standing and work with Brazil to develop complementary policies. This report is also available in Portuguese.

This report suggests that the control of capital in the developed world continues to shift away from private and state-owned institutions and toward public markets. Thereore, small and medium-sized firms with the best prospects for innovation and income/wealth generation need to be liberated from their dependence upon bank-based financial systems. They must also have the ability to turn to market-based systems with access to institutional capital providers at home and abroad.